Much like Christmas, for many of us, Easter is a time to embrace tradition when it comes to family plans, food and wine. For me that means; chocolate eggs for breakfast, shoulder of lamb for lunch and a mellow, rich glass of Gran Reserva Rioja.

Selected from exceptional vintages and aged for at least five years at the winery, these elegant and complex reds are released ready-to-drink and are the perfect accompaniment to spring lamb.

At the end of last year, a blind tasting was held with a panel of experts to discover 100 top Rioja wines within ten different categories to highlight the variety of wines produced in this region of northern Spain. The full list of wines can be found online here and below I’ve listed the top 10 scoring Gran Reservas for you to look out for ahead of the weekend.

I’ll be stocking up on the fragrant and spicy Faustino I Gran Reserva 2001, available for £17.99 when you buy a case from Majestic Wine. Alternatively, impress guests with the Urbina Gran Reserva Especial1994 for an excellent value £18.99! Complex and delicious, this 22-year old bottle of wine still has amazingly fresh fruit flavours.